EMA coordinator directs immediate siren activation on National Weather Service tornado warnings; seeks board backing

Iroquois County Emergency Management Agency coordinator Scott Anderson issued a directive at the county meeting Tuesday requiring that warning sirens be sounded immediately within the warned area when the National Weather Service issues a tornado warning, without waiting for secondary authorization.

Anderson told the board that during a recent storm the county’s sirens were not activated early enough, reducing residents’ lead time to take shelter. He said the county’s Emergency Operations Plan and warning annex designate the National Weather Service and local officials as triggers for siren activation and that current practice—requiring secondary authorization before sounding the sirens—has delayed activation.

In a read-aloud directive presented to the board, Anderson wrote that sirens should be sounded in the specific warned area ‘‘without delaying secondary authorization’’ when a tornado warning is issued by the National Weather Service anywhere in Iroquois County. The directive lists local officials who may also request activation, including the county board chairman, local mayors or presidents, the county sheriff and local police or fire chiefs.

Anderson said he has discussed the change with the county board chairman and will present the directive to the county’s ETSB (emergency telephone systems board) as a courtesy. He sought the board’s support for the operational change; some board members asked for more detail but did not register formal opposition during the meeting.

Anderson described the operational rationale: Iroquois County sits on the down-slope of regional Doppler radar stations used by the National Weather Service, which can reduce radar visibility of cloud-level circulation. That, he said, increases the importance of a spotter-driven or National Weather Service-issued warning and of immediate siren activation to maximize protective lead time for residents.

The action at the meeting was an operational directive from the EMA coordinator and an informal request for the county board’s backing; the transcript does not show a formal board vote adopting a policy change. Anderson said he will notify ETSB and the National Weather Service and will follow up with formal communications to dispatch and telecommunicators to align procedures with the directive.

Anderson also noted the county’s obligation under the Emergency Operations Plan to protect life and property and said a clear, timely siren-activation procedure supports that obligation. The county’s communications and warning annexes referenced in the meeting identify the county board chair and local public-safety leaders as authorized requestors of siren activation, a point Anderson cited in explaining the directive.